Jackson, Miss. (WAPT) – The Mississippi Legislature has finished its session by making final appropriations that will help the state’s response to the coronavirus.
Among the last measures passed was House Bill 1808. The measure allows the purchase of a warehouse for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
The 103,000 square foot warehouse on Mendell Davis Drive in south Jackson cost the state just under $2.4 million.
MEMA Executive Director Greg Michel says that was below the asking price, and it also came with a significant parcel of land that will be utilized in the future as a regional logisitical re-supply site for disaster response that has the capacity for military aircrafts to land.
Michel says Mississippi is not the only state looking to stockpile and protect their personal protective equipment.
“All states are working towards getting to a 60-day level of PPE, and ll the different types of PPE as recommended by the CDC. So, we had to get a space to put that and not only just a space, but a climate controlled space,” Michel said.
Michel said some of the PPE could be damaged if exposed to the wrong climate or weather conditions.
House Bill 1808 clarifies how money from the C.A.R.E.S. Act has been spent.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann credits the goal of transparency to the State Auditor’s office.
“Shad White has been very active as a state auditor. He has sent letters to all of these outlining those. He has worked with us on legislation whether it met the C.A.R.E.S. Act. So did Lynn Fitch and the attorney general’s office,” Hosemann said.